M'town, Clear Lake girls, Lower Lake boys win in soccer

MIDDLETOWN -- Hannah Diaz scored twice and had two assists and teammates Ashley Hart and Kaleigh Alves each added a goal and an assist as the Middletown Mustangs knocked off the St. Helena Saints 5-1 in North Central League I varsity girls' soccer action on Tuesday in Middletown.

Middletown (3-0, 6-1) opened up a 3-0 lead on goals by Diaz, Hart and Alves before St. Helena scored right before the end of the first half.

The Mustangs, winners of five in a row, padded their lead with goals from Diaz, coming off a Hart throw-in, and Caitlin Lemoine in the second half.

"We passed the ball well, but it wasn't as crisp as I would like," Middletown coach Louise Owens said.

St. Helena, a contender in several recent NCL I races, is in a rebuilding mode this season, according to Owens.

"They have one really good forward, definitely a threat, but they don't seem to have much around her," Owens said.

Owens gave high marks to the play of the sophomore Alves, who split time between offense and defense.

"She really did a great job," Owens said.

The play of Hart and Diaz in the midfield was another strength against St. Helena, according to Owens, as was the overall play of Danni Rossi.

"Hart and Diaz really communicated well," Owens said.

"They're all starting to come along," Owens added in assessing her team's overall play against the Saints. "They're still not where I want them to be, but they're getting there."

Middletown travels to Kelseyville on Thursday.

In other girls' action Tuesday:

Clear Lake 12, Lower Lake 0

At Lakeport, coming off a 6-0 non-league loss to Sonoma Academy on Saturday -- a 3-0 game until it got away from Clear Lake in the final 15 minutes -- the Cardinals bounced back with a lopsided shutout victory over the Lower Lake Trojans.

Taylor Helms scored three times and had an assist while Madison Wynacht, Kelcie Reynolds and Faith Hornby added two goals apiece. Reynolds also had two assists.

"We're banged up a little bit so it was a chance to rest some kids and work on some things," Clear Lake coach Paul Larrea said.

Midfielders Hannah Norwood (one goal, two assists) and Reynolds did a good job pushing the ball up front to the forwards, according to Larrea.

"We had seven players score goals," Larrea said. "That's a testament to how well they played."

Standouts on defense were Adriana Guardado and Ciera Moreno, according to Larrea.

Kristen Celli, a busy person in the Lower Lake net, turned back a number of shots, according to Giese.

"She made some nice saves," Giese said.

Clear Lake plays at St. Helena on Thursday while Lower Lake travels to Cloverdale.

Fort Bragg 3, Kelseyville 2

At Fort Bragg, the Fort Bragg Timberwolves scored 15 minutes into the second half to snap a 2-2 tie and beat the Kelseyville Knights.

The two teams battled to a 2-2 tie in the first half. Kelseyville's first goal came off the foot of Amanda Walsh, who collected a rebound off a Fort Bragg defender and booted it into the net. The Knights' other goal was a breakaway by Megan Touros.

"They're getting a lot better," Kelseyville coach Dave Wold said of his team's performance. "I'm really proud of the way they played."

Milly Cacho's play at sweeper anchored the Kelseyville defense, according to Wold.

The Knights host Middletown on Thursday.

Boys' soccer

Lower Lake 5, Clear Lake 3

At Lower Lake, even if it wasn't his team's best outing of the season, Lower Lake coach Dan Griffin said he was pleased to beat the Clear Lake Cardinals in NCL I boys' action.

"A win's a win and I'm always happy to get one of those," Griffin said.

Lower Lake (2-1, 3-4) built a 3-0 lead in the first half on two goals from Luis Ruiz, one on a penalty kick, and another from Mauricio Jauregui.

Clear Lake fought back to 3-1 and 4-2 in the second half before David Fernandez, on a nice pass from Jauregui, made it a 5-2 game.

Luiz had Lower Lake's first goal of the second half to make it 4-1.

"We were pretty sloppy in our goal area and Lakeport took advantage and got back into the game," Griffin said.

While the Cardinals struggled in the first half while kicking into a strong wind, they dominated a majority of the second half, according to co-coach Shaun Hornby.

"The last 25 minutes we were in complete control," Hornby said.

Sturr's play in the midfield and Charlie Crocket's play on defense sparked the Cardinals, according to Hornby.

Fort Bragg 2, Kelseyville 1

At Fort Bragg, Kelseyville scored the only goal in the first half but ended up on the wrong end of a 2-1 decision to the Fort Bragg Timberwolves.

Elias Alvarez scored midway through the first half to give Kelseyville (1-1-1, 2-3-1) a 1-0 lead. Fort Bragg pulled even early in the second half and then pushed ahead to stay midway through the final half.

"We'll get them at home," Kelseyville coach Eduardo Ledesma said of the Oct. 10 rematch in Kelseyville.

Standouts for the Knights were Luis and Omar Rodriguez and Cristian Macias, according to Ledesma.

St. Helena 7, Middletown 2

At Middletown, the Middletown Mustangs played another competitive first half before letting down. This time it came against the St. Helena Saints.

St. Helena led 2-0 in a first half that Middletown coach Chuck Rannells said the Mustangs dominated for the most part.

"Those might have been their only two shots on goal," Rannells said. "They were both breakaways."

Middletown's offense had it chances but couldn't find the range.

"We had so many opportunities," Rannells said.

St. Helena scored five times in the second half to put the game away. Middletown's first three league opponents have scored a combined 14 goals in the second half.

Jesus Garcia scored on a free kick and Jorge Morales converted a penalty kick for Middletown's two goals.

Ricardo Chaires' play at a variety of positions was a bright spot for Middletown, according to Rannells.

"He doesn't get pushed around out there and he never wants to come out of a game," Rannells said.